Thread: Obama pledges to redirect immigration enforcement, conceding Congress won’t act

Obama pledges to redirect immigration enforcement, conceding Congress won’t act

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President Obama acknowledged Monday that there is no hope for legislation overhauling the immigration system in Congress this year, and announced he will be issuing a series of executive actions to repair the situation. (  / The Associated Press)

By Zachary A. Goldfarb and David Nakamura June 30 at 4:20 PM
President Obama angrily conceded Monday that Congress would not overhaul immigration laws this year and announced that he will redirect immigration enforcement to the border.
The action, which will beef up efforts to stem illegal immigration across the border but likely will slow efforts to deport longtime undocumented immigrants already in the country, is one of a series of executive actions Obama pledged to take after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) told him last week that he would not allow an immigration vote this year.
In Rose Garden remarks, the president chided Republicans as bowing to extreme pressures in their party rather than pursuing common sense changes backed by most Americans and passed by the Senate last year.
“Our country and our economy would be stronger today if House Republicans had allowed a simple yes-or-no vote on this bill or, for that matter, any bill,” Obama said, raising his voice. “Instead they’ve proven again and again that they’re unwilling to stand up to the tea party in order to do what’s best for the country. And the worst part about it is, a bunch of them know better.”
While Obama was one of the last to acknowledge that immigration legislation was going to nowhere this year, the moment still represented a low point for him and the collapse of perhaps his biggest second-term priority. For over a year, White House officials have held out hope that Republicans in the House would pass an overhaul of immigration laws, driven by pressure from business interests and a political desire to win Latino votes.

President Obama is increasing efforts to stem illegal immigration across the border in a series of executive actions he will pledge in the absence of House legislation. (  / The Associated Press)

“Speaker Boehner told the president exactly what he has been telling him: The American people and their elected officials don’t trust him to enforce the law as written,” said Michael Steel, a Boehner spokesman. “Until that changes, it is going to be difficult to make progress on this issue.”
Now, Obama himself is likely to face intense pressure from immigration activists who believe the president has waited far too long to take executive action to slow deportations. As one immigration advocacy group tweeted Monday during Obama’s remarks: “It’s in his hands.”
Immigration activists are calling on Obama to speed up an internal review of deportation enforcement policies that he had put on hold until after the summer while waiting for the House to act on legislation.
Democrats and advocates have urged Obama to significantly expand a 2012 decision to defer the deportations of young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. That decision has provided legal protections for more than 500,000 people, who are allowed to work and remain in the country for two-year periods that are renewable.
Obama has stated repeatedly that he is legally unable to expand that program, but aides have said White House officials are reviewing all options to make immigration laws more “humane.”
In his remarks Monday, Obama said he would pursue executive actions to address immigration now that the House has declared it will not act. He said he wants a full list of potential actions from his administration by the end of the summer.
“The only thing I can’t do is stand by and do nothing while waiting for them to get their act together,” he said.
Obama was careful to frame actions he might take as designed to better secure the border. But given the finite resources he has to enforce immigration laws, the effect is likely to be a refocusing of federal efforts on national security, border enforcement and violent offenders, and less of an emphasis on detaining and deporting longtime immigrants.
“Protecting public safety and deporting dangerous criminals has been and will remain the top priority, but we are going to refocus our efforts where we can to make sure we do what it takes to keep our border secure,” Obama said.
During his reelection campaign, Obama professed hope that Republicans would finally back a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws should he win a second term. Some hoped that might occur this summer, after Republican primaries ended, or perhaps in the lame-duck session following the midterm elections.
Earlier Monday, the Obama administration announced it will ask Congress for emergency funding and new statutory authority to stem a surge of undocumented women and children from Central America coming into the country illegally along the south Texas border.
Officials have said they will seek more than $2 billion for additional border patrol agents, immigration judges and detention facilities to help deport the immigrants more quickly.
The move has outraged human rights and immigration advocates, who have criticized the administration for potentially sending the women and children back to countries with escalating gang violence. Most of the influx of 52,000 unaccompanied children and 39,000 women with children who have been apprehended on the border this year are coming from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
But the administration’s announcement that Obama will simultaneously pursue administration actions that could slow deportations and provide administrative relief to immigrants who have been living here without documentation for years could offset some of the concerns.
On a conference call earlier Monday, some advocates expressed doubt about such a strategy.
“We will not sacrifice these children [on the border] in hopes of some reform or administrative relief,” said Kevin Appleby, migration policy director for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “These issues should be addressed separately and humanely. I know that’s not how Washington works sometimes, but our job is to protect these children regardless of politics.”
In his remarks Monday, Obama reaffirmed that nothing can replace Congressional action to overhaul immigration laws and expressed hope that efforts could resume next year.
“Whenever it is, they will find a willing partner,” he said.
In a letter to Congress on Monday, Obama called on lawmakers to help the administration build an “aggressive deterrence strategy” to deal with the influx of women and children entering the United States illegally from Central America.
“This surge of resources will mean that cases are processed fairly and as quickly as possible,” Obama wrote, “ensuring the protection of asylum seekers and refugees while enabling the prompt removal of individuals who do not qualify for asylum or other forms of relief from removal.”
Said Steel: “We appreciate the update from the White House, but there are too few details – at this point – to determine whether their proposal would be effective. We await the actual request.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...c=al_comboPN_p

added to homepage with new title and note...

ALIPAC NOTE: Big thanks to all the ALIPAC supporters that fought hard to make this happen and to defeat legislative amnesty in 2014!

Obama admits Congress wont Pass His Amnesty claims he will reinforce borders
http://www.alipac.us/obama-admits-co...-borders-3075/

Obama was careful to frame actions he might take as designed to better secure the border. But given the finite resources he has to enforce immigration laws, the effect is likely to be a refocusing of federal efforts on national security, border enforcement and violent offenders, and less of an emphasis on detaining and deporting longtime immigrants.

Our current border security crisis gives Obama another excuse to ignore interior enforcement and deportations!